


Breakfast with Judy

by juem87



Series: Picking Up the Pieces [9]
Category: Twisted (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-05
Updated: 2013-09-05
Packaged: 2017-12-25 16:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/955153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juem87/pseuds/juem87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lacey tells her mother about her and Danny's relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breakfast with Judy

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry there's no Dacey interaction in this story. There was going to be, but then I felt like it needed to be just about Lacey and Judy.

The smell of bacon greets Lacey as she slowly wakes from her sound slumber. Inhaling deeply she stretches her arms and legs out on the bed, groaning softly. Her suspicions are confirmed with the breath. The aroma of bacon is definitely in the air, which means her mother is home. Smiling, body relaxed and still buzzing from her previous evening's activities with Danny, Lacey rises from the bed, putting on her slippers before making a trip to the bathroom on her way to the kitchen.

"Hey honey," Judy says, acknowledging her daughter as she moves from the stove to pull the girl into a tight embrace. This is the first time she has seen her in days, having been called away to Pennsylvania for a situation pertaining to her mother. The elderly woman had fallen in her home, requiring a trip to the emergency room. Judy's sister, Julia, had made the event sound most dire, implying that their mother was on her deathbed. This prompted Judy to take the first flight out, leaving her children home alone, only to discover, upon arrival, that the woman had sustained barely a scratch from the fall, but instead required an overnight stay in the hospital due to complications with her diabetes, for which the woman refused to properly take her medication. Irritated with both her mother and sister, Judy contemplated returning home right away, but chose to visit with the women she hadn't seen in months. She trusted her eldest daughter to take care of the household in her short absence, though she was sure to call home frequently.

"How was everything while I was gone," Judy asks pulling back to look at her daughter's face before smoothing down her hair. "Did you and Clara make out okay?"

"Yes, mom," Lacey replies, daring to roll her eyes at her mother. "Clara and I told you every time you called that everything was alright. You don't have to keep asking." The woman had been insufferable; calling every morning and evening to remind the girls to eat, to lock the front door, to do their homework, et cetera, as if they'd starve and leave to front door wide open for the house to be looted in her absence.

Judy smacks her daughter's shoulder lightly, amused at the girl's exasperation. "Don't roll your eyes at me. I can't help it if I worry about you and your sister." She returns to the shove, flipping over the bacon before moving the eggs off to the side. She's reaching into a cabinet for plates when she asks, "When is Clara coming home?"

"I don't know." Lacey opens a drawer retrieving the necessary silverware before taking the plates from her mother and setting the kitchen table. "She told me that Candice's parents are dropping her off, so they're probably all going out for breakfast. Maybe she'll be home around 10." Lacey shrugs her shoulders, moving to the refrigerator for orange juice once she's done with the table.

"Okay, then it's just the two of us," Judy says nudging her daughter's shoulder with her own and smiling before putting the food on the table and taking a seat. Lacey joins her a moment later, pouring her glass of orange juice and retrieving the cream for her mother's coffee beforehand. "Thank you honey," Judy begins the task of preparing her coffee as Lacey reaches for the eggs.

"So how are grandma and Aunt Julia?" Lacey asks once her plate is filled with food.

Judy sighs deeply, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at the mention of her sister and mother. "They're both fine. They spent the entire visit driving me crazy, as usual. I told you that your grandmother had to stay in the hospital overnight because of her diabetes; well Julia spent the whole evening running the nurses ragged. Demanding this and that, and telling them to do this test and that test. Then she made the entire visit about her, crying over mom like she was dying. She's so neurotic! And your grandmother," Judy takes a pause and Lacey gives her mother a knowing look. "That woman is just so stubborn! If she would just take the medication like the doctors tell her she would be fine."

Lacey shakes her head smiling, "She wouldn't be her if she wasn't stubborn." Grandma Olive is a sweet looking old lady that's tough as nails, takes no nonsense, and doesn't do anything she doesn't want to. Having her around is amusing, but quite the test in patience.

"Very true, but now she isn't safe to live on her own. She was lucky this time, but next time who knows what could happen. I wanted her to move here with us, but she chose to stay with Julia instead." Judy takes a slip of her coffee, looking down at the table, saddened at the fact her mother so readily turned down her offer in favor of her sister's.

"Mom, that's probably for the best. You were just talking about how crazy she made you from a three day visit, image her living here," Lacey says, smiling softly in an effort to comfort her mother. She's secretly elated that the elderly woman chose to stay with her aunt. Lacey loves her grandmother, but the woman is a nuisance, constantly criticizing, lecturing, and demanding that things be done the way she prefers.

Judy looks up at her daughter, smiling back with a chuckle, "You're right. I guess we're lucky that Julia is the favorite child." There's an edge of bitterness to her voice that speaks to the years of hurt her mother's rejection has caused her. Lacey reaches across the table placing her hand on top of her mother's. Judy pats her daughter's hand before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes briefly. When her eyes open, she smiles. This time it's genuine, her eyes lighting up at her daughter's caring, "Thank you honey." Their hands part and they return to eating their breakfast.

After several minutes of silent dining, Lacey places her fork down on the table, glancing up at her mother before straightening up in her chair. "Mom... there's something I have to tell you." She's terrified, the nervous causing her stomach to clench painfully, making her regret the food she has just eaten. This is much more difficult than telling her friends. They can stop socializing with her and attempt to make her life difficult, but they have no real control over her decisions. Her mother, on the other hand, has the power to keep her and Danny apart. She doesn't think the woman would up and move her away, but the thought has crossed her mind on brief occasions of paranoia. "You have to promise to hear me out and try not to get angry," she says looking directly into her mother's eyes.

Realizing the severity of the situation, Judy places her own silverware down, leaning forward in her seat, arms crossed on her lap, to give her daughter her undivided attention. She's hesitant, but agrees, "I promise."

"Well, you know that Archie and I broke up a few weeks ago," Lacey starts, prolonging her confession as her eyes slip from her mother's face to rest on the table between them, "but you don't know the whole reason why. It's true that things didn't feel right between Archie and I, but that's because I found someone who they did feel right with." Lacey takes a deep breath before looking back up at her mother. "That person is... Danny Desai. He and I have been dating for the past week and we were seeing each other for a while last month... It's getting serious." Her eyes remain trained on her mother's face awaiting the woman's reaction.

Much like the people before her, Judy is still with shock upon hearing Lacey's words. Her first instinct is to yell at her daughter, ask her what she thinks she's doing dating a murderer, but Judy reins in that impulse, remembering the promise she made. Instead she takes a deep breath, moving to cradle her face in the palm of her hands, elbows on the table. Her anger turns into anguish as her mind drifts to Regina and images of Gloria Crane mourning the death of her daughter. She feels liquid on her palms, and is surprised to find herself crying. Attempting to keep her sobs at bay, Judy composes herself, wiping the tears from her eyes before looking back at her daughter, still speechless.

Lacey watches her mother's reaction, stunned into her own state of silence, tears welling in her eyes. She hates to worry her mother, wishes she could tell her the whole truth about five years ago to ease her mind, but those secrets aren't hers to tell, and she refuses to betray Danny's confidence.

"What have you gotten yourself into Lacey?" Judy finally asks, not quite able to stop the flow of tears. Her body begins to tremble, the idea of her daughter being in the company of danger overwhelming her.

"He didn't kill Regina." The tears Lacey tries to hold back fall, her face becoming a reflection of her mother's. "I know you won't believe me, but he's not a murderer."

"How can you say that, Lacey?" Judy's voice rises despite her best efforts. "Even if he didn't murder Regina, he was put away for strangling his aunt with a jump rope. How can you say he isn't a murderer?" Her voice rises with each word until eventually she's shouting, voice straining and body taut. She stands from the table to relieve some of the pressure she feels, walking across the kitchen to stare out into the backyard.

Lacey flinches at her mother's elevated tones, but refuses to back down. "I'm not going to stop seeing him," she says, rising from her seat and bracing both hands on the table, ready for a fight. "I don't care what you say or do. You can't keep us apart." The determination is clear on her face, despite the trail of tears. This is the first time Lacey has genuinely stood against her mother, preferring to follow the woman's direction to keep peace in a home that was so use to being riddled with tension and conflict.

Judy turns to face her daughter, aghast at her words. She goes to rebuff the girl's statement when she's halted by an eerie sense of déjà vu, her daughter's words and stance bringing her back to a time when she was a teenager having this same argument with her own mother. She remembers the fear she felt going against her mother's wishes, desperately wanting the woman's approval of her relationship with the boy that turned out to be wrong for her, and the subsequent loneliness when events unfolded exactly as her mother had predicted. She felt ashamed and alone, seemingly having no one in which to confide. She never wants her daughter to feel this way.

In the past couple years, Judy hasn't supported Lacey in the way she deserves. She realizes that having been too preoccupied with her failed marriage and divorce, she's allowed her responsibilities as a mother to drift past her, not proving her daughters with all of the emotional comfort they needed. Instead of disapproving of the relationship and subsequently pushing her eldest daughter further away, it's be best to support her now, more than ever, especially since this decision may turn the entire town against her. Judy isn't at all comfortable with Danny Desai as her daughter's boyfriend, but she needs to be there to protect her if and when the situation turns grim.

Lacey, unnerved by her mother's continued silence, relaxes her arms at her sides, waiting for the woman's next remark. She surprised when her mother's body, too, relaxes, arms coming uncrossed and the look of anger melting from her face.

Judy remains silent, but continues to stare intently at her daughter, hoping the steady gaze will somehow change the girl's mind. It doesn't and eventually she crosses the room, returning to her previous position.

"Sit down, Lacey. Finish your breakfast," Judy says as she resumes eating the food on her plate.

Bewildered by her mother's actions, Lacey does as she is instructed, lowering down to the seat and picking up her fork. She's taking a bite of eggs when Judy says, "I don't like this. I don't want you anywhere near that boy, but I know the harder I try to keep you apart the more you'll fight to be together. I don't support this relationship, but I support you. I'm going to trust that I raised you well enough to know when you're in a bad situation." Judy pauses in her speech to reach across the table and tightly grip Lacey's hand, "I want you to come to me if anything bad happens, if you're scared, or if you feel like you're in danger. Anything, it doesn't matter what. I'm here. Promise me that!"

Overwhelmed by the earnestness in her words, Lacey glances away before turning back to meet her mother's gaze, "Yes." Lacey studies her face for a moment, this being one of the few times she's experienced the woman like this, fierce in the protection of her daughter.

"Good." Judy releases Lacey's hand before returning to her food. "And I want Danny to come over for dinner. Since you two are dating, it's only right that I reacquaint myself with him." There's a menacing to Judy's voice that Lacey chooses to ignore.

"Okay," she smiles softy, her appetite renewed as she continues her breakfast. That Lacey can do. Inviting Danny to dinner is no problem. The problem lies in whether or not his charm can overcome this ferocious new version of her mother. Only time would tell.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not exactly happy with this, but I hope you guys enjoyed. Let me know what you think!


End file.
